


Classes and Conversations

by writingfromdarkplaces



Series: Love's Illusions [4]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fake Marriage, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-20
Updated: 2016-11-20
Packaged: 2018-09-01 04:28:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8607832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingfromdarkplaces/pseuds/writingfromdarkplaces
Summary: Jake and Ellie arrange a dinner with her team to end the pretense, but their plans go awry and Jake ends up with a new BFF.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I came away from my last installment of this series feeling like I'd failed. Completely. Then I was thinking again about the possible ties to canon I'd considered making, which included this one, and so I went ahead and did this little piece as a break from Different Streams. I wish I could get my act together, either find a good place for prompts, do good original fic, or make more progress on existing series/universes.

* * *

“I don't think that we should let Abby pick the activity for these group outings,” Ellie said, grimacing. Her truck felt smaller than usual, though she suspected that was in part because she wasn't used to having company in it, and definitely not _this_ kind of company. “She means well, but this... is so not working.”

“Means well?” Jake said, frowning as he pulled on his shirt, as uncomfortable with his clothes as she was with her own. She hadn't really been sure about this, but she still found it difficult to tell Abby no, and since Jake actually had agreed to come along again, Ellie had even less reason to refuse. She didn't know why he'd agreed. “I don't think tricking us into going to couples classes counts as no pressure.”

Ellie winced. It definitely did _not_ count as no pressure. Abby just really wanted them to work through their problems, which was sweet but also making things worse. Ellie would have appreciated the support if they really were together, but they weren't. That made the whole thing extremely awkward for both of them.

“Are you mad?” Ellie couldn't help asking. She did not want this to be what ended their friendship, but she knew the strain of their fake marriage was getting to him—to both of them.

Jake looked out the window. “I don't mind spending time with you. I'm not... thrilled about the lies, but even that wouldn't be an issue—”

“If not for Abby's determination to see us work through the problems she's convinced we have.”

“She's convinced we're having problems because you allowed her to think that.” Jake sighed. “We both did. I could have said something, and I didn't. We'd basically agreed to tell Abby at that dinner, and we didn't.”

“I agree—we have to stop the couples classes,” Ellie said, gripping the wheel tightly. She felt a little sick about it. At first, Abby's couple classes were fun. She'd loved the cooking one she'd done with Jake, even if she was a complete disaster as a cook. He was good, and they'd laughed a lot, though Abby's other choices for couples classes were not so good.

“I... I think we should end the pretense altogether,” Jake said, turning back to look at her. “Get your team together, all at once, and tell them the truth.”

Ellie almost gagged. She wasn't sure she could do that. Not because she thought her team would hate her forever—they'd be upset, disappointed, hurt, and even angry, but eventually, they'd get over it. She hoped, at least. “Jake—”

“I'm sorry, Ellie. I've tried, but I can't let this continue,” Jake said. He shook his head. “You shouldn't want it to, either. NCIS... It is your home. Your team. Your family. You told me before that you hated not being able to tell your family about what you did at the NSA. Being able to talk freely was one of the reasons you gave that up for NCIS. Do you really want to destroy that with this lie?”

Ellie felt that one like a kick to the gut. “No.”

“Then we're agreed. We get your team together, and we tell them the truth.”

* * *

Gibbs took his coffee from the counter, taking a sip of it before putting the lid on the cup. He wasn't leaving with bad coffee. He headed toward the door to the diner, ready to head into the office. He hadn't heard from anyone, meaning no one had a lead on Mishnev, but that would change. He was going to get one, and he was going to nail that bastard.

Then his phone rang, and he frowned, wondering if that was Abby with her usual timing.

“Gibbs.”

“It's Bishop. I was just—”

“You got something on a case?” Gibbs demanded, knowing that it was too soon, too unlikely to be connected to Sergei, but he wanted it to be anyway. He wanted Mishnev found. He wanted him dead.

“Oh, um, I haven't actually made it in to NCIS yet,” Bishop said. “We were at couples yoga and it ran late and—”

“What do you want, Bishop?”

“To invite you to dinner.”

Gibbs frowned. Since when did his team invite him anywhere? That only happened on certain holidays and other special occasions, like wrapping up a difficult case. “What?”

“Jake and I were talking, and we thought it would be a good idea for... for all of us to talk,” Bishop began, and Gibbs frowned. He wasn't sure what to make of that. Talk. Since when did he talk? And why would Bishop think he would? Still, he had his own reasons for wanting to ask a few questions of Malloy.

“You did.”

“Um...” Bishop did not seem very comfortable with her own suggestion. This must be coming from Malloy, of all people. “We were thinking we'd offer to take you, Tony, and McGee out to dinner. Not necessarily tonight, but maybe tomorrow? Is that enough notice?”

Gibbs would have been fine with changing it to breakfast. He wanted answers, and if he wasn't getting them about Sergei Mishnev, he could at least get them about Malloy. “Tomorrow is fine.”

“Okay, good,” Bishop said, getting that tone she had when she started to babble on. “Sounds good. We'll see you soon. I mean, at NCIS. Well, we're probably going to be a bit late. I—We'll see you as soon as we get out of this traffic.”

Gibbs shook his head and hung up, putting the phone away as he headed for his car.

* * *

“Here we are,” Jake muttered under his breath as they came out of the elevator. A part of him wanted to go back on what he'd said earlier, but he couldn't do it. Not with these classes Abby had them trying. Some had been fun, and he'd enjoyed being with Ellie, but there were others that were not at all pleasant, and even if the had been, the circle of people they were lying to was getting wider and wider.

This had to stop.

“Told you they'd be here,” Ellie said, which was both a relief and a curse, but he followed her toward Tony's desk anyway.

Tony saw them and called out across the room. “Hey, look, everybody! It's Jake Malloy! The yin to Bishop's yang. Hey, what is it, Casual Tuesday at NSA?”

Jake tried not to grimace. This was nowhere near what he'd wear for a casual day at work, and he wasn't sure how he'd been talked into wearing it at all. “Couples yoga at the YMCA.”

“Mm-hmm,” Ellie agreed. “It ran late. We're changing here.” 

“You guys have been doing a lot of couples classes lately,” McGee said from his desk. 

“Always working to improve our marriage,” Jake said, though he didn't know why. That was pretend, but Abby didn't think it was, so in a warped way, it showed them what it would be like if they were. He wasn't sure that was a good thing. He didn't think he and Ellie would have lasted if they were together.

“And it sucks,” Ellie said, and Jake stared at her, about to confront her about that. She agreed—they were telling her team the truth. She was not getting out of things by suggesting their marriage was that far on the rocks. “The classes. Not our marriage.”

She smiled, and he forced himself to respond, hoping that this wasn't going to turn into yet another lie. He couldn't do it anymore. A part of him had wanted to, a part of him liked being around her enough to accept the lies, but not now, not with these couples classes and the lie getting bigger.

“Last week, it was... couples massage,” Ellie explained with a wince.

“Yeah, that was just creepy,” Jake said, trying not to think about how awkward that had been. He and Ellie were not intimate, so it was hard enough touching her but other people?

“Yeah, so after this morning, we decided we are taking a break,” Ellie announced, causing Tony and McGee to frown at her. Jake did, too, not sure if she was doing what he thought she was. “From, uh, the classes. Not each other.”

Jake smiled, laughing a little to encourage the conversation where it needed to go. “And then Ellie had a brilliant idea...” 

“I'm glad that you guys are figuring all this couple stuff out, but if you'll excuse me...” Tony started typing on his computer, but it was so fake that even Jake knew he tell he wasn't really working.

Jake thought telling him the truth here and now would change that. Maybe they should. “Don't you want to hear what the idea was?”

“You know, isn't the mystery of not knowing more exciting?”

“Ellie,” McGee said with a smile. “I would love to hear what your idea was.” 

“Don't you dare, McGee.” 

“I'm being courteous, Tony.” 

“It's a trap, Tim,” Tony hissed out, and Jake was having doubts about the way that telling him the truth would go over.

“We want to take you to dinner,” Jake said, needing to get them to agree before he lost his nerve. He wasn't sure that he could keep it for much longer.

“What's the catch?”

Jake shook his head. “No catch. Our treat.” 

“At NSA, we had the same colleagues,” Ellie told them, and Jake wondered why she was going there, but she apparently wanted to pad the story some. “but Jake doesn't really know you guys.”

“So you want to take me and McGee to dinner, no strings attached.”

“And Gibbs,” Jake added, since Ellie had already asked him despite thinking that he knew. At least this way they'd get everyone there at once and end the farce at last.

Tony laughed. “And Gibbs. Well, there you go. Don't know if you've noticed, but the boss hasn't been the fun, social Gibbs that we all love and fear.” 

Ellie nodded. “Yeah, well, he has had a lot on his mind lately.”

“That's an understatement,” McGee said, and Jake would have wondered about that if he hadn't heard about Mishnev and the staged killings—in more detail than he ever needed. “Doesn't matter though—there is no way he's gonna say yes.”

“Already have,” Gibbs said as he came into the room. “Expecting you to be there.” 

“I'll have bells on, boss,” Tony said as McGee fumbled out, “I love dinner, boss.” 

Jake was almost amused by their responses. At least he knew they'd both be there so he and Ellie could end this thing properly.

“Good. We'll go over the details later,” Gibbs said, grabbing something from his desk. “Come on. Got a dead Marine in Gwynns Falls.” 

Tony and McGee rose, grabbing their bags and heading for the elevator. 

“Can I have a minute to change?” Ellie asked but got no answer. They didn't even stop. She shrugged and picked up her own bag. “I'll change in the car.”

She gave Jake a kiss on the cheek, stunning him, and he just stood there as she hurried after the others. Why had she done that? No one had been there to see her do it, so it wasn't necessary. 

And she hadn't actually said she was going to change in front of McGee, Tony, and Gibbs, had she? Did she do that often? 

“Wait. You'll what?”

* * *

“No, I understand, you have to go back,” Jake said after Ellie explained about the call she'd just gotten, summoning them back to the other state. He wasn't sure he believed it, not liking himself for the thought, but the thing was—he knew Ellie didn't want to do this. He'd seen her face when he said they were ending it, and she'd looked somewhere between desperate and terrified. He wasn't surprised to see it get delayed. “It's for the case.”

“Well, the good news is, you can go home,” Ellie said, like that was somehow a good thing. “And don't worry about Gibbs. Tony's gonna let him know.” 

Jake knew Gibbs was looking at him. Damn. “Oh, I think he already does.”

“Well, yeah, DiNozzo,” Gibbs said, not giving much away on his end of the phone call. “You do what you got to do.”

“I'm so sorry,” Ellie told him. Jake wished that was enough, but under the circumstances, he wasn't sure. He didn't know how to tell anyone that it was fake now, not without her there, and he also didn't think Gibbs would want him to leave. This was going to be hell, and he didn't even know if McGee was going to show up.

“Okay. I'm gonna go now,” Jake said, hanging up awkwardly. He didn't know what to do now. He could try and go home, he supposed, since the whole point of the night was out. Even if he told Gibbs, what good did that do? “I guess it's just the two of us. Should we eat?” 

“Jake, I want to ask you something...” Gibbs began. Jake swallowed, again wondering how he'd ever let himself be talked into this. Something about Ellie, about the way she was, but he didn't know why he'd let it continue. Or why he hadn't run as soon as she said she wasn't coming. “Work-related.” 

“Will it require top-secret clearance to answer?” Jake asked. He laughed and tried not to wince at how nervous he was.

“Yeah. And it stays between us.” 

This was different. He was not sure at all where this was about to go, but it might spare him the awkwardness of admitting that he and Ellie were not even dating. “I'm all ears.” 

“What do you know about Russian and Palestinian relations?”

Jake took a breath and leaned forward. “In what sense, exactly? Are we talking about in historical one, the traditional roles of each country? Or are we looking at something more modern? Something in the last few years or further back?”

“Depends. You got anything old that ties to things right now?”

“Actually, I just might,” Jake agreed, thinking of a certain military action by the Russians that might just have the right timing. “One thing before we go further, though—exactly what is your clearance level?”

Gibbs just smiled at him.

* * *

“And that's about all I can tell you off the top of my head,” Malloy said, reaching for his drink and taking a sip. Gibbs thought over what Malloy had told him so far, knowing he would need more than what Malloy had and what he'd implied with a certain theory, but that wasn't going to come tonight. He'd need files and a hell of a lot more.

“You can get more information, though, can't you?” Gibbs asked, and Malloy nodded, making Gibbs wonder why the hell Bishop didn't go to him more often when they needed assistance in their cases. The man knew a lot more than he was saying.

“I can, and I might, but you are going to have to file the request through official channels.”

Gibbs frowned. “Why would I do that?”

Malloy snorted. “Is that a real question? This is bending the rules so badly I should get fired for it, but I don't think either of us wants that. Put the request in formally, and both of our asses are covered. No one's a traitor, and we're in the clear.”

“You always that concerned with saving face?”

The other man shook his head. “Gibbs, I may be a lawyer, but I actually believe in ethics, in making the system work, and if national security didn't matter to me, I wouldn't be in this job. I am not here to betray my country. I'm helping because you need to find a dangerous terrorist, but it's meaningless if it's not done right.”

Gibbs reassessed him. “You're not what I thought you were.”

“Thanks, I think,” Malloy said, fiddling with his napkin. “I'm almost sure that's high praise from you, especially when it comes to lawyers.”

“What do you know of my opinion on lawyers?”

“Rule thirteen?”

Gibbs laughed. “So she told you about the rules. All of them or just the one?”

“All of them, but I didn't write them down so I don't remember them all,” Malloy answered. “That one stuck out. Had me pretty worried when it came to meeting Ellie's team. I figured it wouldn't go very well at all.”

Gibbs shook his head. “Team likes you. Abby in particular.”

“I know,” Malloy said. He looked down at the table. “She's been great for Ellie, who really needed a friend. She hasn't gotten close to many people since she moved to DC. Flynn was one of few, and he died. Her other working relationships weren't half as close. I still don't understand how she and Martinez get along.”

Gibbs had heard Martinez compared to DiNozzo, and that explained a few things. The rest of it wasn't entirely new but not anything he'd had confirmed, either. Bishop was friendly enough, most people at NCIS liked her, but she had managed to keep her distance at the same time. Hell, Malloy was proof enough of that.

“You didn't finish your food.”

Malloy glanced at his plate. “Oh. I... I had forgotten about that. Guess I wasn't as hungry as I thought when I ordered it.”

Gibbs frowned. “That because of the quality of the food or the conversation?”

“You're used to Ellie. She eats like crazy when she's nervous. Me? I don't have much of an appetite when I'm stressed. And no, that's not a comment about you. I've just... There's a lot going on at work right now, and this situation with me and Ellie... It's nothing. The food was fine. And you were easier to talk to than I expected.”

“There something else going on I should know about?”

Malloy considered that for a moment. “Um... Well... There is a possible complication—not a terrorist threat like Mishnev or anything, but I know Ellie's employment with you sprung from that incident with the secretary of the navy's pen.”

“And?”

“And it got a certain firm barred from naval contracts and bankrupted them,” Malloy said, not telling Gibbs anything he didn't know. Malloy grabbed his drink, swallowed some down, and then tried to speak again. “My family's company is in the running for the contract they once held.”

“They are?”

Malloy nodded. “I'm not sure that it matters, but yes, they are. They were doing similar research, and they stand the best chance of picking up where the failed company left off. My brother thinks they can actually improve on the design, but then he has always been a bit of... he has a bad habit of exaggerating, especially when he's drunk.”

Gibbs shook his head. “That contract is worth millions. What the hell are you doing working for the NSA?”

Malloy laughed. “You're kidding, right? I have no interest in being nothing more than a cog in the money making machine. I'm grateful that I'm not still paying off loans for college, but beyond that, all my family's money has ever been is trouble.”

“You going to claim that Mercedes out there isn't yours?”

Malloy grimaced. “I... No, it is.”

“Problem with that?”

“No, just awkward,” Malloy admitted. He sighed. “My parents bought me that as a bribe after hearing that I was thinking of buying a new car. The idea was to get me to switch over to their legal department. They were... not amused when I declined, but the title is in my name, and trying to sell it would only have made matters worse.”

“Hell of a bribe.”

“Like I said, family money is nothing but trouble,” Malloy said. He shook his head. “Anything else you want to ask me about?”

“Yes.”

* * *

Ellie knew that Tony was unsettled by everything that their time at his school had uncovered, and she wasn't sure she could help with that, even if she wanted to. He had surprised her, but then she had been wondering for a while if that whole frat boy act was just a disguise. Tony was smarter than he seemed, and not just because he had years of experience investigating crimes. She also knew that he could be a lot more sensitive than he appeared.

And a lot more hurt.

He just learned to bury that and hide it, not too unlike someone else she knew.

“Well... whatever happened in your past helped make you the awesome guy you are today,” Ellie told him, and he smiled at her, not believing her. Maybe someday he would. Beyond the act and the more annoying parts of his personality, he was a good guy. She hoped he saw that before it was too late, and it would be great if he embraced it more.

She gave him another smile, not sure what else to do, and if she didn't have something to do, she'd start worrying about Jake eating dinner with Gibbs again. She figured Gibbs was already aware of the lie, but she didn't know if Jake had confirmed it for him or not. She couldn't be sure.

The elevator dinged, and Tony looked over at it, seeming grateful for the interruption. He smiled again when he saw the person coming out of it. “Well, if it isn't Jake Malloy. Look at you.”

“Hey,” Jake said, and she wasn't sure if he was talking to Tony or her, though he did come over to her side. She knew he wouldn't want her to, not when he wanted this over with, but since he did, she chose to sneak in what little moments she could.

“Hey,” she said, hugging him. “Where were you?” 

“Yeah, um, I'm sorry,” Jake answered, backing out of the hug faster than she would have liked. “Closed-door meetings at NSA all day long. I mean, I would've called but, uh—” 

“But Gibbs had your phone,” she said, still wondering about that. He wasn't the type to leave his phone behind—too organized for that, too responsible.

“Yeah,” Jake said, wincing. He took it from her and started checking his messages. “I left it in the diner last night. He said he'd leave it here and I could pick it up.”

She watched him, biting her lip. “Sorry I made you sit through dinner.”

“Oh, no, don't be,” Jake said, putting his phone inside his suit pocket. “It was great. I mean, Gibbs is so easy to talk to.” 

“He is?” Tony asked in disbelief, and Ellie knew he wasn't the only one having trouble with that statement. Gibbs wasn't a conversationalist, and he seemed annoyed most of the time when he was listening to others.

“Yeah,” Jake agreed. “And we had a lot to discuss.” 

Ellie frowned. Had Gibbs confronted him about their arrangement? Had Jake told him the truth about that? Was that what they discussed. “Like what?” 

Jake fidgeted, nervous _and_ guilty. “What happens in the diner stays in the diner.”

Tony smiled, apparently liking the reference. Ellie was not with him there. She was getting near panic now. What had happened last night? “Are you kidding? The whole point of the dinner was we would have more to talk about.”

Jake grimaced. “And we will, just not about last night.”

“Well, it sounds like you guys have a lot to talk about on the ride home,” Tony said, annoyed, and she wished he hadn't witnessed any of this, “so good luck with that.”

“Yes, we will,” Ellie said, frustrated herself. What wasn't Jake telling her?

“Next time, Tony,” Jake said, and Ellie tried not to wince at the reminder that he still intended to tell her team the truth and that their relationship would be over when he did.

“Bye, Tony,” she said over her shoulder, hurrying Jake over to the elevator so that they could be alone and she could ask him what she needed to and maybe get some peace after a day of trying not to worry when she wasn't using work to distract herself.

The doors closed, and she whirled on him. “Did you tell Gibbs?”

He shook his head. “I didn't think there was any point. You said he already knew, and even if he didn't, he was the only one there besides me. Why would I tell him when the idea was to have one conversation, tell the whole team, and get it over with?”

Her stomach twisted at those words. Over. That was not exactly what she wanted, even if she didn't want to keep lying to everyone. “I just...”

Jake put a hand on her arm. “We are going to have to arrange another time to do this, and no, I'm not going to tell you what Gibbs and I discussed. Part of that was personal, and the rest of it was classified above your level, so don't ask. It... It did go better than I thought it would when no one else showed up, but that's not saying much.”

She sighed, leaning back against the wall. “What are we going to do?”

“I'm not sure,” Jake admitted. “Especially since I think somewhere in there I actually agreed to play racquetball with Gibbs.”


End file.
